Cathedral Band concert tonight

The iPod Opera 2.0

3 Events over 16 months,
from individual and personal, to public and collective

The Myth of Orpheus, The Chronicler, and Eurydice
Podcast in 2-week intervals: April 10, 2006 to February 24, 2007
For Your Ears Only
video: http://cathedral.monroestreet.com/rss/ipo204.xml
audio only: http://cathedral.monroestreet.com/rss/ipo203.xml

The Chronicler Remembers, The Myth Retold
Second Stage West, Phoenix, Arizona
In Concert
VJ Paris, DJ Tamara, William Duckworth and Nora Farrell, with
William Barton, didgeridoo, and AJ Sabatini as the Chronicler
(And introducing the iPod continuo - 9 fabulous ASU students that I’m about to meet)
February 24, 2007
webcast this evening at 7pm MST
http://cathedral.monroestreet.com

iOrpheus
South Bank, Brisbane, Australia
By The River
A public opera for the streets, parks and promenades of South Bank
August 31, 2007

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is simple to tell but as complicated to explain as love, death, music, fate. As with all myths, every telling is a version that adds or omits details, a few of which can make all the difference. Orpheus, the first musician, plays the lyre, is able to tame animals, move even the trees and rocks. Eurydice, his bride, takes a walk or just wanders into the fields, or, maybe, is led there by the shepherd, Aristaeus. A snakebite. Death. Inconsolable and grieving, Orpheus plays to the living. But the music has no effect. He acts, descends into the realm of the dead. To convince the guardian of the River Styx, he plays and sings. The boatman gives in and Orpheus seeks his love in the land of dead. But, first must play to the gods and convince them to let Eurydice return to the living. What music should he choose? What do the rulers of darkness hear? He begins to play his music and succeeds. The dead weep, the gods give in. Eurydice can go, but on the condition that during their journey toward earth, Orpheus does not look back. (What games these gods play; why this rule?) As they near the light, Orpheus turns and Eurydice slips into the shadows, lost forever. Twice lost (But was it his fault?) In deepest despair, Orpheus has no other life but as a musician. He performs, alone, in the forests, the desert and by the sea. He gains followers, including beasts, trees, the wind, young boys, and women. In Thrace, the women want to possess him, but he rejects them. In fury, they stone him, tear off his limbs, and cast his head into the river Hebrus. His body and head float musically until the Muses gather them. A nightingale sings over his remains, said to be in Libethra. Jupiter places his lyre in the night sky. In death, Orpheus is reunited with Eurydice.

* * *
Considered the first opera, Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Favola in musica (a story in music), with libretto by Alessandro Striggio, was performed at the Ducal Palace of the Gonzagas in Mantua, Italy on February 24, 1607. A favorite subject of the era, there had been other musical works based on myth of Orpheus, and more were to follow. Questions about the power of music and song and the very idea of dramatizing music were in the air. The overall structure of Monteverdi’s music and its staging were groundbreaking. The opera demonstrated how music can convey a dramatic story, with action and psychology. Eventually, Orpheus became associated with all artists as well as magicians, healers, and those who can create harmony in the natural world. Pythagorean philosophers addressed the connections between music and numbers and saw Orpheus as a figure who combines imagination, knowledge and rapture.

* * *
Orpheus: The Myth Retold is the second installment of William Duckworth and Nora Farrell’s Orpheus trilogy, The iPod Opera 2.0, launched in 2006 as 26 video podcasts, in 5 acts, and 12 scenes, unfolded over a year. The performance in Second Stage West coincides with the final installment of the podcast and will be played out on Second Life, a 3D online digital world. Involving a DJ, VJ, didgeridoo, the Pitchweb, the voice of The Chronicler, and an iPod Continuo, Orpheus: The Myth Retold expands the boundaries of opera and performance. The trilogy will conclude in August 2007 in Australia, with iOrpheus, a production staged on the Brisbane River parklands and performed on iPods, cellphones, and laptops, along with interactive installations and live performers.